Reconfiguring reality using a reality overlay device

ABSTRACT

Virtual entities are displayed alongside real world entities in a wearable reality overlay device worn by the user. Information related to an environment proximate to the wearable device is determined. For example, a position of the wearable device may be determined, a camera may capture an image of the environment, etc. Virtual entity image information representative of an entity desired to be virtually displayed is processed based on the determined information. An image of the entity is generated based on the processed image information as a non-transparent region of a lens of the wearable device, enabling the entity to appear to be present in the environment to the user. The image of the entity may conceal a real world entity that would otherwise be visible to the user through the wearable device. Other real world entities may be visible to the user through the wearable device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the overlay of virtual entities on areal-world environment.

Background Art

Virtual reality (VR) is a technology which allows a user to interactwith a computer-simulated environment. Virtual reality is typicallypresented to a user as a visual experience, displayed either on acomputer screen or through special (e.g., stereoscopic) displays. Somevirtual reality systems may include additional sensory information, suchas sound provided through speakers or headphones, and/or tactileinformation. Users can interact with a virtual environment or a virtualartifact (VA) through the use of standard input devices such as akeyboard and mouse, or through multimodal devices such as a wired glove,a Polhemus boom arm, or an omnidirectional treadmill.

A virtual reality environment can be similar to the real world. Forexample, virtual reality environments include simulations for pilot orcombat training. Alternatively, a virtual reality environment can differsignificantly from reality. For instance, virtual reality environmentsinclude games and alternate world simulations (e.g., a simulation of amedieval world).

In virtual reality techniques that provide a visual experience to theuser through a computer screen or special display, only virtual entitiesare included in the provided virtual experience. In other words, thevisual experience provided to the user is entirely virtual. Real worldentities in the field of view of the user are not included in theprovided visual experience. What is desired are ways of including bothreal world entities and virtual reality entities in a virtual realityexperience provided to users.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Virtual entities are displayed alongside real world entities in awearable reality overlay device worn by the user. Information related toan environment proximate to the wearable device is determined. Forexample, a position of the wearable device may be determined, an imageof the environment may be captured, etc. Virtual entity imageinformation representative of an entity desired to be virtuallydisplayed is processed based on the determined information. An image ofthe entity is generated based on the processed image information as anon-transparent region of a lens of the wearable device, enabling theentity to appear to be present in the environment to the user.

The image of the entity may be generated to conceal a real world entitythat would otherwise be visible to the user through the wearable device.Other real world entities may be visible to the user through thewearable device.

The wearable device has numerous applications. In an exampleconfiguration, a virtual gaming environment is enabled by a wearabledevice. Image information corresponding to one or more virtual gameentities is received. A next game state is determined based on adetermined position of the wearable device, an image of the localenvironment, one or more rules of a game, a virtual player artificialintelligence, a game field configuration, a current game state, and/orinformation regarding at least one additional real-world game player.The image information is processed based on the determined next gamestate. One or more images corresponding to the one or more virtual gameentities are generated based on the processed image information as oneor more corresponding non-transparent region of a lens of the wearabledevice

The virtual game entities enable a user of the wearable device toparticipate in a game that incorporates virtual entities and real worldentities.

In another example, a wearable device is provided. The wearable deviceincludes a position monitor, a lens, and a display generator. Theposition monitor is configured to determine a position of the wearabledevice. The display generator is configured to receive image informationprocessed based at least on the determined position. The imageinformation is representative of an entity. The display generator isconfigured to generate an image of the entity as a non-transparentregion of the lens based on the processed image information to enablethe entity to appear to be present to a user of the wearable device inan environment proximate to the wearable device.

In one example configuration, the display generator includes an imageprojector configured to project the image of the entity on the lens. Inanother example configuration, the display generator is a display devicethat includes an array of image pixels. The lens may include the displaydevice. The display device is configured to selectively activate pixelsof the array of image pixels to form the image of the entity.

The wearable device may include one or more lenses. For example, thewearable device may include a right lens and a left lens correspondingto a right eye and a left eye of the user. One or more displaygenerators may be present to generate an image of the entity on eachlens.

In a further example, the wearable device may include an image processorconfigured to process image information representative of the entitybased at least on the determined position of the wearable device, thedetermined orientation of the wearable device, or the determined speedof the wearable device to generate the processed image information.

In a further example, the display generator may be configured tooptically align the image of the first entity on the lens with a secondentity visible through the lens to at least partially conceal the secondentity to the user of the wearable device. The image processor may beconfigured to process image information representative of the secondentity based at least on a determined position of the second entity, adetermined orientation of the second entity, or a speed of the secondentity to generate the processed image information.

In an example configuration, the wearable device may include a cameraconfigured to capture an image of the environment. The image processormay be configured to process an image of the second entity captured bythe camera to determine a location of the second entity.

In a still further example configuration, the wearable device mayinclude a game engine. The display generator may generate an image of avirtual playing field and/or other virtual game features, virtual gameparticipants, and/or virtual game implements.

The game engine is configured to enable the user to participate in agame configured to take place in the virtual playing field.

The image processor and/or game engine may be internal to the wearabledevice. In a still further example configuration, the wearable devicemay include a communication interface configured for wired and/orwireless communications with devices (e.g., a server) that may be remotefrom the wearable device that may include the image processor and/or thegame engine.

In another configuration, a reality overlay image processing server isprovided. The reality overlay image processing server includes acommunication interface, storage, and an entity image processor. Thecommunication interface is configured to receive position informationfrom a wearable device. The storage stores image informationrepresentative of an entity. The entity image processor is configured toprocess the image information representative of the entity based atleast on the determined position. The communication interface isconfigured to transmit the processed image information to the wearabledevice. The wearable device is configured to receive the processed imageinformation, and to generate an image of the entity as a non-transparentregion of a lens based on the processed image information to enable theentity to appear to be present to a user of the wearable device in anenvironment proximate to the wearable device.

In a further example, the reality overlay image processing serverincludes a game engine configured to enable the user to participate in agame that includes the entity.

These and other objects, advantages and features will become readilyapparent in view of the following detailed description of the invention.Note that the Summary and Abstract sections may set forth one or more,but not all exemplary embodiments of the present invention ascontemplated by the inventor(s).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS/FIGURES

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a partof the specification, illustrate the present invention and, togetherwith the description, further serve to explain the principles of theinvention and to enable a person skilled in the pertinent art to makeand use the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a system for reconfiguring reality usinga wearable reality overlay device, according to an example embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a processed environment view that may begenerated by the wearable device of FIG. 1, according to an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a view of an example environment that includes an entity.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a processed environment view that may begenerated by the wearable device of FIG. 1, according to an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of an example wearable reality overlaydevice, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show block diagrams of a display generator, according toexample embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows a portion of a display of a display device, according to anexample embodiment.

FIG. 9 shows a flowchart for performing reality overlay, according to anexample embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 shows a block diagram of a wearable device, according to anexample embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 shows a flowchart providing a process for processing positioninformation regarding a real-world entity, according to an exampleembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 shows a flowchart that is an example of the flowchart shown inFIG. 11, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 shows an example wearable device that includes a camera,according to an embodiment of the present invention

FIG. 14 shows a block diagram of an entity image optically alignedbetween an eye of a user and a real-world entity, according to anexample embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 shows a block diagram of a reality overlay system, according toan example embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 shows a wearable device, according to an example embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 17 shows a block diagram of a viewable environment where a varietyof virtual entity images and real world entities are viewable by a userof a wearable device, according to example embodiment of presentinvention.

FIG. 18 shows a block diagram of an example wearable reality overlaydevice, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 shows a flowchart for performing reality overlay in a gamingenvironment, according to an example embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 20 shows an example of an environment viewable to a user when awearable device is not activated.

FIG. 21 shows the environment of FIG. 20 with an example virtual gameoverlaid thereon by a wearable device, according to an exampleembodiment of the present invention.

The present invention will now be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicateidentical or functionally similar elements. Additionally, the left-mostdigit(s) of a reference number identifies the drawing in which thereference number first appears.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION I. Introduction

The present specification discloses one or more embodiments thatincorporate the features of the invention. The disclosed embodiment(s)merely exemplify the invention. The scope of the invention is notlimited to the disclosed embodiment(s). The invention is defined by theclaims appended hereto.

References in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,”“an example embodiment,” etc., indicate that the embodiment describedmay include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, butevery embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature,structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarilyreferring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature,structure, or characteristic is described in connection with anembodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of oneskilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristicin connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitlydescribed.

Embodiments are described herein that enable real world entities andvirtual entities to be provided to a user in a virtual environment. Inan embodiment, a virtual reality overlay device includes a lens throughwhich a user can view the surrounding environment. The reality overlaydevice is configured to selectively generate opaque portions (e.g., inblack-and-white, grayscale, and/or color) of the lens to correspond tovirtual entities displayed to the user. The opaque portions of the lensmay conceal real world entities that would otherwise be visible to theuser through the lens. One or more other portions of the lens remaintransparent through which the user can view corresponding portions ofthe surrounding environment to view real world entities. In this manner,the reality overlay device can “re-present” or “re-paint” sections ofthe users view.

Example embodiments and applications of the present invention aredescribed in the following section.

II. Example Embodiments for Reconfiguring Reality using a RealityOverlay Device

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a system 100 for reconfiguring realityusing a wearable reality overlay device 104 (hereinafter “wearabledevice 104”), according to an example embodiment of the presentinvention. In FIG. 1, a user 102 interacts with wearable device 104 toview environment 106. For example, wearable device 104 may have the formof a pair of glasses, a pair of goggles, a mask, or other wearable itemthrough which user 102 may view environment 106. As shown in FIG. 1,environment includes a real-world entity 112. Real-world entity 112 maybe any living being, geographical feature, structure, or other entitydescribed elsewhere herein or otherwise known.

As shown in FIG. 1, wearable device 104 enables user 102 to view aportion of environment 106. For example, a real environment view 110 isreceived by wearable device 104 that includes real-world entity 112.Wearable device 104 is configured to process real environment view 110to generate a processed environment view 108 that is viewable by user102. Wearable device 104 may be configured to process real environmentview 110 in various ways. For example, wearable device 104 may beconfigured to insert images of one or more entities to appear inprocessed environment view 108 that are not present in environment 106.In this manner, even though the one or more entities are not present inenvironment 106, the one or more entities appear to be present to user102. The one or more entities may be separate entities or may partiallyor entirely conceal real world entities that are present in environment106.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of an example of processed environment view108 that may be generated by wearable device 104, in an embodiment. Asshown in FIG. 2, wearable device 104 may process real environment view110 so that an entity image 202 is present in processed environment view108 that is viewable by user 102, but that is not present in realenvironment view 110. Entity image 202 may be an image of any object,living being, geographical feature, structure, or other entity describedelsewhere herein or otherwise known. In this example, when user 102views environment 106 through wearable device 104 as shown in FIG. 1,user 102 may see real world entity 112 and entity image 202 even thoughthe entity corresponding to entity image 202 is not present inenvironment 106. Entity image 202 is inserted into processed environmentview 108 by wearable device 104.

In another example, environment 106 may appear as shown in FIG. 3. FIG.3 shows a block diagram of environment 106 including a real-world entity302. Entity 302 may be any object, living being, geographical feature,structure, or other real world entity described elsewhere herein orotherwise known. FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of an example of processedenvironment view 408 that may be generated by wearable device 104 basedupon receiving a real environment view 110 corresponding to FIG. 3, inan embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, wearable device 104 may process realenvironment view 110 so that an entity image 402 is present in processedenvironment view 408. Entity image 402 may be an image of any entitydescribed herein or otherwise known, including an entity that is similaror different than entity 302. In this example, when user 102 viewsenvironment 106 through wearable device 104 as shown in FIG. 1, user 102may see processed environment view 408, with entity image 402 partiallyor entirely concealing entity 302. Entity image 402 is inserted intoprocessed environment view 408 by wearable device 104 in alignment withentity 302 to conceal entity 302 from view by user 102.

In this manner, wearable device 104 enables real world entities (e.g.,entity 112) to be viewed by user 102 alongside virtual entities (e.g.,entity image 202) and/or enables real world entities (e.g., entity 302)to be concealed by a virtual entities (e.g., entity image 402). User 102may be enabled to select which virtual entities are to be made viewableby wearable device 104, including being enabled to select virtualentities to conceal real world entities in the field of view of user 102through wearable device 104. Accordingly, wearable device 104 has amultitude of applications. Some examples of applications of wearabledevice include:

1. Virtual interior decorating: User 102 could select a new painting oran image of a wall to appear to be present in a home, and the selectedpainting or wall image may be generated as a virtual entity by wearabledevice 104. User 102 could select particular paintings and/or otherimages to appear as virtual entities according to their preference. User102 can view the paintings and/or other images using wearable device104. As user 102 turns his/her head from side to side, wearable device104 can adjust the view of the virtual images to the user, virtuallymoving the paintings/other images from side to side, to maintain thepaintings/other images in their original positions. For example,wearable device 104 may include position/orientation detectors, such asone or more accelerometers.

2. Different views for different people: User 102 may prefer to have aroom painted a particular color, such as green. In such case, wearabledevice 104 could be configured to cause the exposed portions of a wallin the view of user 102 to appear to be colored green. In anotherexample, a married couple may not be able to decide on a color withwhich to paint their living room. Using wearable device 104, the couplecould leave the living room a particular color, such as white, and afirst wearable device 104 of the husband may be configured to “virtuallypaint” the room red (i.e., cause the walls of the living room to appearred when viewed through first wearable device 104), while a secondwearable device 104 of the wife may be configured to virtually paint theroom yellow.

3. One or more aspects of reality may be “substituted” in this way: Ifuser 102 prefers to view another person (e.g., a significant other) inan alternative piece of clothing than currently worn by the person(e.g., a leopard skin jacket), user 102 may be enabled to configurewearable device 104 to cause the alternative piece of clothing to appearto be worn by the person when the person is viewed through wearabledevice 104. In such case, wearable device 104 may be configured toconceal the piece of clothing currently worn by the person with an imageof the alternative piece of clothing (e.g., as described above withrespect to FIGS. 3 and 4) so that the person appears to be wearing thealternative piece of clothing.

4. Such aspects may include substituting physical aspects of persons:The appearance of persons may be “edited” by wearable device 104. Ifuser 102 prefers to view a person's face, hair, body, arms, legs, etc.,to appear in a manner other than they appear in reality, wearable device104 may be configured to cause the person to appear as such. Forexample, wearable device 104 may be configured to “erase” blemishes(e.g., conceal blemishes with generated skin tone images) and/orotherwise change the visual appearance of other people. For instance, ifuser 102 prefers to see a particular celebrity when looking at anotherperson (e.g., their spouse), wearable device 104 may be configured toconceal the person with an image of the celebrity (e.g., as describedabove with respect to FIGS. 3 and 4) so that the celebrity appears to bepresent to user 102 instead of the person. Wearable device 104 may beconfigured to continually update the generated image of the celebrity tomaintain concealing the person with the image of the celebrity as theperson talks, moves about, etc.

Example embodiments and applications of wearable device 104 aredescribed in the following subsections.

A. Example Wearable Reality Overlay Device System and Method Embodiments

Example embodiments are described in this section for wearable device104. The example embodiments described herein are provided forillustrative purposes, and are not limiting. Further structural andoperational embodiments, including modifications/alterations, willbecome apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) from theteachings herein.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of an example wearable reality overlaydevice 500 (hereinafter “wearable device 500”), according to anembodiment of the present invention. Wearable device 500 is an exampleof wearable device 104 shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 5, wearabledevice 500 includes a user interface 502, an entity information storage504, a position monitor 506, an entity image processor 508, a displaygenerator 510, and a lens 512. As shown in FIG. 5, wearable device 500interacts with an eye 514. Eye 514 may be an eye of user 102 shown inFIG. 1, for example.

User interface 502 enables a user to configure wearable device 500. Userinterface 502 may be configured to enable user 102 to edit, input,and/or select one or more virtual entity images to be displayed to user102 by wearable device 500. User device 502 may also be configured toenable user 102 to select an initial position, a size, and/or anorientation for the one or more virtual entity images. User device 502may also be configured to enable user 102 to select a real entity towhich a virtual entity image may be assigned.

User interface 502 may include any number and combination of userinterface elements, including an interface provided by a computer(mobile or desktop), such as an interface provided by a computer-basedor web-based application. For example, user interface 502 may include akeyboard, a thumb wheel, a mouse pointer, a roller ball, a stickpointer, a display, any number of virtual interface elements (e.g., suchas a keyboard or other user interface element displayed by a displaygenerator 510 at lens 512), a voice recognition system, and/or otheruser interface elements described elsewhere herein or otherwise known.

Entity information storage 504 may store a library of one or morevirtual entity descriptions 520 that user 102 may select for display bywearable device 104 as one or more corresponding virtual entity images.User interface 502 may be configured to provide a list of the one ormore virtual entity descriptions 520 from which user 102 may selectvirtual entities to be displayed. User interface 502 may interact withentity information storage 504 to provide such information as virtualentity configuration information 518, which is received and stored asvirtual configuration 526 by entity information storage 504. Virtualentity configuration information 518 may include the selection providedby user 102 of the one or more virtual entities for display, includingthe selected initial position, size, and/or orientation of the virtualentity images. Virtual entity configuration information 518 may alsoinclude the identification of one or more real world entities with whichone or more of the selected virtual entities are to be associated (e.g.,to partially or entirely conceal the real world entities). Each virtualentity description 520 stored in entity information storage 504 mayinclude information necessary for graphically rendering an image of thecorresponding virtual entity in two or three dimensions, depending onthe type of virtual entity.

Entity information storage 504 may include one or more of any type ofstorage mechanism for storing virtual entity descriptions 520 andvirtual configuration 526, including a hard disk drive, an optical discdrive, a memory device such as a RAM device, a ROM device, etc., and/orany other suitable type of storage medium.

Position monitor 506 is configured to determine location informationregarding wearable device 500. The location of wearable device 500,including the orientation of wearable device 500, varies as the userwearing wearable device 500 moves about. For example, position monitor506 may be configured to determine a location (e.g., coordinates ofwearable device 500) of wearable device 500, an orientation of wearabledevice 500, and/or a speed at which wearable device 500 is moving. Forexample, position monitor 506 may include a global positioning system(GPS) device configured to enable coordinates of wearable device 500 tobe determined. In an embodiment, position monitor 506 may include one ormore gyroscopes that may be configured to determine an orientation ofwearable device 500. In another embodiment, position monitor 506 mayinclude an accelerometer that may be used to determine an orientationand/or speed at which wearable device 500 is moving. In furtherembodiments, position monitor 506 may include additional and/oralternative mechanisms for determining a location, an orientation,and/or a speed of wearable device 500. As shown in FIG. 5, positionmonitor 506 generates a position information signal 522.

As shown in FIG. 5, entity image processor 508 receives virtual entityimage information 524. For example, entity image processor 508 mayaccess entity information storage 504 for image information relating toa virtual entity image to be displayed, and in response, entityinformation storage 504 may output the requested image information asvirtual entity image information 524. Virtual entity image information524 may include one or more of virtual entity descriptions 520, forinstance. As shown in FIG. 5, entity image processor 508 also receivesposition information signal 522. Entity image processor 508 isconfigured to process virtual entity image information 524 for display.For example, entity information processor 508 may process virtual entityimage information 524 based upon position information of wearable device500 received in position information signal 522. In this manner, entityinformation processor 508 may be enabled to configure a location, size,and/or orientation of a virtual entity image displayed by wearabledevice 500 to user 102 relative to a location, orientation, and speed ofwearable device 500. As shown in FIG. 5, entity image processor 508generates a processed image information signal 528. Processed imageinformation signal 528 includes image information configured fordisplay, to display one or more virtual entity images for the user ofwearable device 500 at the proper location, size, and orientation.

Entity image processor 508 may be implemented in hardware, software,firmware, or any combination thereof. For example, entity imageprocessor 508 may be implemented as computer code configured to beexecuted in one or more processors. Alternatively, entity imageprocessor 508 may be implemented as hardware logic/electrical circuitry.

Display generator 510 receives processed image information signal 528,and generates a virtual entity image 516 displayed at lens 512. Virtualentity image 516 is viewable by an eye 514 of user 102 that is alignedwith lens 512. Entity image 516 is an example of entity images 202 and402 described above. Display generator 510 displays entity image 516 atlens 512 at a size and a location of lens 512 according to processedimage information signal 528. As shown in FIG. 5, portions of lens 512where entity image 516 is not present are transparent (e.g., light 530from environment 106 is shown passing through lens 512 to eye 514).Display generator 510 may be configured to generate entity image 516 atlens 512 as focused at infinity or at other suitable distance, asdesired. Display generator 510 may include any suitable mechanism fordisplaying entity image 516 at lens 512, such as a projection mechanism,a display device, or other suitable mechanism.

For example, FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of displaygenerator 510. In FIG. 6, display generator 510 includes an imageprojector 602. Image projector 602 is configured to project a display ofentity images, such as entity image 516, on lens 512, similar to aheads-up display (e.g., a head mounted display or helmet mounteddisplay) that may be used in aircraft cockpits, automobiles, and othertypes of vehicles. In such an embodiment, lens 512 may include a surfacecoating or inner layer of a reflective material, such as a metal, thatis configured to receive light representative of entity image 516projected from image projector 602, and reflect the light towards eye514 (similar to a heads-up display combiner), but that is transparent tolight received from the environment. Image projector 602 may include anysuitable type of projection unit to project entity image 516, includinga cathode ray tube (CRT), a light emitting diode (LED), a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), a digital micro-mirror device (digital light processing(DLP) device), a liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) device, etc.

In another example, FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of another embodimentof display generator 510. In FIG. 7, display generator 510 is integratedwith lens 512. For example, display generator 510 may be an inner orouter layer of lens 512. As shown in FIG. 7, display generator 510includes a display device 702. Display device 702 is configured todisplay entity images, such as entity image 516. For example, displaydevice 702 may be an LCD that can have selectively transparent andnon-transparent portions. Display device 702 may be opaque where entityimage 516 is displayed, while other portions of display device 702 aretransparent. For instance, display device 702 may be an LCD where eachpixel includes electrode layers made of a transparent conductor (such asindium tin oxide (ITO)), a pair of polarizing filter layers, and anenclosed liquid crystal material that can selectively be madetransparent or non-transparent (e.g., by application of an electricfield).

For instance, FIG. 8 shows a display 800 that is a portion of a completedisplay of display device 702, according to an example embodiment. Asshown in FIG. 8, display 800 includes an array of pixels 806. In theexample of FIG. 8, display 800 includes a 12×9 array of pixels 806. Afirst portion 802 of display 800 is transparent, and a second portion804 of display 800 is not transparent. Thus, light from the environmentmay pass through first portion 802. However, light may not pass throughsecond portion 804, and instead a virtual entity image is present atsecond portion 804 (e.g., entity image 516). Second portion 804 includesa first section of pixels 808 displaying a first color and a secondsection of pixels 810 displaying a second color. For instance, secondportion 804 may be a corner portion of a virtual painting, where firstsection of pixels 808 is a frame portion of the painting, and section ofpixels 810 is a painted portion of the painting.

Example structure and operation of wearable device 500 is furtherdescribed with respect to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 shows a flowchart 900 forperforming reality overlay, according to an example embodiment of thepresent invention. Flowchart 900 may be performed by wearable device500, for example. Further structural and operational embodiments will beapparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) based on thediscussion regarding flowchart 900. Flowchart 900 and wearable device500 are described as follows.

Flowchart 900 begins with step 902. In step 902, information related toan environment proximate to a wearable device is determined. Forexample, as described above, position monitor 506 may determine alocation of wearable device 500 in the local environment (e.g.,environment 106 shown in FIG. 1). Furthermore, as described furtherbelow, location information may be determined regarding real entities inthe local environment using image recognition, radio signatures, and/orother location information determining techniques.

In step 904, image information is processed based at least on thedetermined information, the image information being representative of anentity. For example, as described above, entity image processor 508 mayreceive image information from entity information storage 504 as virtualentity image information 524, and may receive position information 522from position monitor 506. Virtual entity image information 524 mayinclude image information representative of one or more virtual entityimages. Entity image processor 508 may process the received imageinformation based on position information 522. As described furtherbelow, the received image information may be additionally and/oralternatively processed based on determined location informationregarding real entities in the local environment.

As described above, position information 522 may include a location, anorientation, and/or a speed of wearable device 500. Entity imageprocessor 508 is configured to process virtual entity image information524 based on position information 522. For example, the closer that thelocation of wearable device 500 is to the location of the virtualentity, the larger will be the image of the virtual entity generated fordisplay by entity information processor 508. Conversely, the fartheraway that the location of wearable device 500 is from the location ofthe virtual entity, the smaller will be the image of the virtual entitygenerated for display by entity information processor 508. Thus, entityinformation processor 508 may determine a distance between wearabledevice 500 and the virtual entity based upon position information ofwearable device 500 received in position information signal 522 and thelocation of the virtual entity provided in virtual entity imageinformation 524. Entity image processor 508 may scale the size of thevirtual entity generated for display based upon the determined distance.Furthermore, the location of the virtual entity image displayed in lens512 is configured by entity image processor 508 according to anorientation of wearable device 500 received in position informationsignal 522. Still further, the orientation of the virtual entity imagedisplayed in lens 512 may be configured by entity image processor 508according to the orientation of the virtual entity provided in virtualentity image information 524 relative to wearable device 500. Stillfurther, entity image processor 508 may process virtual entity imageinformation 524 according to the speed at which wearable device 500 ismoving, because movement of wearable device 500 may modify theorientation, location, and/or size of the virtual entity image displayedby wearable device 500 at a particular rate.

In step 906, the processed image information is received. For example,as described above, display generator 510 receives processed imageinformation signal 528.

In step 908, an image of the entity is generated based on the processedimage information as a non-transparent region of a lens of the wearabledevice to enable the entity to appear to be present in the environmentto a user of the wearable device. For example, as described above,display generator 510 generates an image of one or more virtual entitiesbased on processed image information signal 528. The generated image ofthe one or more virtual entities is displayed at lens 516, such asentity image 516 shown in FIG. 5. Entity image 516 is generated as anontransparent region of lens 512. The generation of entity image 516 onlens 512 enables a virtual entity corresponding to entity image 516 toappear to be present in the environment (e.g., environment 106) to user102 wearing wearable device 500. Transparent regions of lens 512 enableuser 102 to view real-world entities in the environment alongside thevirtual entity corresponding to entity image 516.

In an embodiment, wearable device 500 may include a single lens 512through which one or both eyes of user 102 view the local environmentand view generated entity images. In another embodiment, wearable device500 may include a pair of lenses, with each lens aligned with thecorresponding eye of user 102. In such an embodiment, steps 904-908 offlowchart 900 may be performed once for both lenses (such that each lensreceives the same processed entity image), or may be performedseparately for each lens (such that a different entity image is receivedby each lens).

For instance, FIG. 10 shows a block diagram of a wearable device 1000,according to an example embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 10, wearable device 1000 is configured to generate right and leftentity images 516 a and 516 b at right and left lenses 512 a and 512 b,respectively, which are respectively aligned with right and left eyes514 a and 514 b of user 102. In the example of FIG. 10, entity imageprocessor 508 includes a right image processor 1002 a and a left imageprocessor 1002 b. Right image processor 1002 a receives positioninformation signal 522 and virtual entity image information 524, andgenerates processed right image information signal 528 a. Right displaygenerator 510 a receives processed right image information signal 528 aand generates right entity image 516 a at right lens 512 a. Left imageprocessor 1002 a receives position information signal 522 and virtualentity image information 524, and generates processed left imageinformation signal 520 b. Left display generator 510 b receivesprocessed left image information signal 528 b and generates left entityimage 516 b at left lens 512 b.

Right eye 514 a views right entity image 516 a at right lens 512 a, andleft eye 514 b views left entity image 516 b at left lens 512 b.Processed right image information signal 528 a and processed left imageinformation signal 528 b may be configured such that right entity image516 a and left entity image 516 b form a stereoscopic image of thevirtual entity to user 102, creating an illusion of depth. In thismanner, the virtual entity corresponding to right and left entity images516 a and 516 b may appear to be three-dimensional when viewed throughwearable device 1000.

As described above, wearable device 104 may be configured to superimposea virtual entity image on a real world entity to enable user 102 to viewthe virtual entity image in place of the real world entity. In suchcase, the position of the real world entity may need to be determinedand/or tracked, so that wearable device 104 can maintain the virtualentity image in position on lens 512 to conceal the real world entity.In such case, position information regarding a real-world entity may bedetermined, and image information regarding a virtual entity may beprocessed based on that determined position information. For instance,FIG. 11 shows a flowchart 1100 providing a process for processingposition information regarding a real-world entity, according to anexample embodiment of the present invention. Flowchart 1100 is describedas follows.

Flowchart 1100 begins with step 1102. In step 1102, at least one of alocation of the second entity, an orientation of the second entity, or aspeed at which the second entity is moving is determined. The secondentity may be a real-world entity, such as entity 302 shown in FIG. 3. Alocation, orientation, and/or speed of the second entity may bedetermined in any suitable manner, including using image recognition,tracking the second entity with a radio frequency identification (RFID)device (e.g., tag) attached to the second entity, and/or using othertechniques. For example, a wearable device may include a camera (forimage recognition) and/or a RFID reader (to track a RFID device). Step1102 may be performed during step 902 of flowchart 900 shown in FIG. 9,for example.

In step 1104, the image information representative of the first entityis processed based on the determined at least one of the location of thesecond entity, the orientation of the second entity, or the speed atwhich the second entity is moving. Image information received fromentity information storage 504 regarding the first entity (the entity tobe displayed as a virtual entity image (e.g., entity image 516)), may beprocessed based on the determined location, orientation, and/or speed ofthe second entity (the real world entity). As described above, thedistance between the location of wearable device 500 and the virtuallocation of the virtual entity (e.g., the location of the real-worldentity), the larger will be the image of the virtual entity generatedfor display by entity information processor 508. Such distance maychange as the position of the real world entity changes, at a rate ofspeed of movement of the real-world entity. Entity image processor 508may scale the size of the virtual entity generated for display basedupon the distance. Furthermore, as the orientation of the real worldentity changes, the orientation of the virtual entity may need to bechanged. The orientation of the virtual entity image displayed in lens512 may be modified by entity image processor 508. Step 1104 may beperformed during step 904 of flowchart 900 shown in FIG. 9, for example.

FIG. 12 shows a flowchart 1200 that is an example of flowchart 1100shown in FIG. 11, according to an embodiment of the present invention.Flowchart 1200 is described with respect to a wearable device 1300 shownin FIG. 13. Wearable device 1300 is an example of wearable device 104shown in FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the present invention.Flowchart 1200 is described as follows.

In step 1202, an image of the second entity is captured. Wearable device1300 shown in FIG. 13 is generally similar to wearable device 500 shownin FIG. 5, with differences described as follows. As shown in FIG. 13,wearable device 1300 includes a camera 1302. Camera 1302 is configuredto capture an image of an environment viewable by user 102, includingcapturing an image of a real-world entity 1308. Camera 1302 may be anytype of suitable image capturing device mountable in wearable device1300, as would be known to persons skilled in the relevant art(s). Forexample, camera 1302 may include an image sensor, such as a chargecoupled device (CCD) or a CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor)sensor. As shown in FIG. 13, camera 1302 generates a captured imageinformation signal 1306. Step 1202 may be performed during step 1102 offlowchart 1100 shown in FIG. 11, for instance.

In step 1204, the captured image is processed to determine a location ofthe second entity. For instance, as shown in FIG. 13, entity imageprocessor 508 includes an image recognition module 1304. Entity imageprocessor 508 receives captured image information signal 1306. Imagerecognition module 1304 processes captured image information signal 1306to identify real-world entity 1308 in the captured image, and todetermine a location of real-world entity 1308 in the local environment.Image recognition module 1304 may use any suitable pattern/imagerecognition techniques known to persons skilled in the relevant art(s).For example, pose estimation techniques may be performed by imagerecognition module 1304 on captured image information signal 1306 toestimate a position and/or orientation of real world entity 1308relative to camera 1302. Entity image processor 508 generates processedimage information signal 1310, which includes the image informationregarding the virtual entity received in virtual entity imageinformation 524 processed according to the determined position and/ororientation of real-world entity 1308. Step 1204 may be performed duringstep 1104 of flowchart 1100 shown in FIG. 11, for instance.

In step 1206, the image of the first entity on the lens is opticallyaligned with the second entity visible through the lens to at leastpartially conceal the second entity to the user of the wearable device.For instance, display generator 510 receives processed image informationsignal 1310, and generates an entity image 1312 at lens 512, which isrepresentative of the virtual entity selected to replace entity 1308 inthe viewable environment of user 102. Entity image 1312 is positioned atlens 512 to conceal entity 1308 from the view of user 102. For example,FIG. 14 shows a block diagram representation of entity image 1312optically aligned on lens 512 between eye 514 of user 102 and real-worldentity 1308. Entity image 1312 is sized and positioned to substantiallyconceal real-world entity 1308 with respect to eye 514. As describedabove, entity image 1312 may be focused by display generator 510 toappear at the distance of entity 1308 from wearable device 1300.

Note that in an embodiment, a pair of cameras 1302 may be included inwearable device 1300. For example, wearable device 1000 shown in FIG. 10may include a first camera 1302 a associated with right eye 514 a and asecond camera 1302 b associated with left eye 514 b. Right imageprocessor 1002 a may include a first image recognition module 1304 aconfigured to process a captured image information signal 1306 agenerated by first camera 1302 a, to generate a processed imageinformation signal 1310 a. Left image processor at 1002 b may include asecond image recognition module 1304 b (or may use the same imagerecognition module 1304) configured to process captured imageinformation signal 1306 b generated by second camera 1302 b, to generatea processed image information signal 1310 b. Right display generator 510a may receive processed image information signal 1310 a, and maygenerate a corresponding right entity image 1312 a in optical alignmentwith right eye 514 a and entity 1308. Left display generator 510 b mayreceive processed image information signal 1310 b, and may generate acorresponding left entity image 1312 b in optical alignment with lefteye 514 b and entity image 1308. In this manner, user 102 may bepresented with a stereoscopic view of entity image 1312 that concealsreal world entity 1308.

As shown in FIGS. 5, 10, and 13, wearable devices may be configured tobe self-contained. In further embodiments, wearable devices, includingthe wearable devices shown in FIGS. 5, 10, and 13, may be configured asnot self-contained. In such embodiments, a first set of the elementsdescribed above may be included in a wearable device and a second set ofthe elements described above may be separate from the wearable device.

For instance, FIG. 15 shows a block diagram of a reality overlay system1500, according to an example embodiment of the present invention. Asshown in FIG. 15, system 1500 includes a computer 1502, a realityoverlay server 1504, and a wearable device 1506. Computer 1502 includesuser interface 502 and a communication interface 1518. Reality overlayserver 1504 includes entity information storage 504, entity imageprocessor 508, and a communication interface 1508. As shown in FIG. 15,communication interface 1508, entity image processor 508, and entityinformation storage 504 are coupled together in server 1504 by acommunication signal/bus. Wearable device 1506 includes position monitor506, camera 1302 (when present), display generator 510, lens 512, acommunication interface 1510, and a body 1522. Body 1522 includes (e.g.,mounts and/or contains) position monitor 506, camera 1302 (whenpresent), display generator 510, lens 512, and communication interface1510.

Computer 1502 and reality overlay server 1504 communicate over acommunication link 1516. Communication interface 1518 of computer 1502may transmit signals that are received by communication interface 1508of reality overlay server 1504, and communication interface 1508 maytransmit signals that are received by communication interface 1518. Forinstance, as described above, communications regarding selecting andconfiguring virtual entities (e.g., virtual entity configurationinformation 518 exchanged between user interface 502 and entityinformation storage 504) may occur over communication link 1516 betweencommunication interfaces 1508 and 1518.

Reality overlay server 1504 and wearable device 1506 communicate over acommunication link 1520. Communication interface 1508 of reality overlayserver 1504 may transmit signals that are received by communicationinterface 1510 of wearable device 1506, and communication interface 1510may transmit signals that are received by communication interface 1508.For instance, as shown in FIG. 15, communication interface 1510 mayreceive position information signal 522 and captured image informationsignal 1306, and transmit the corresponding position and captured imageinformation from wearable device 1506 to communication interface 1508 atreality overlay server 1504 in a first communication signal 1512.Communication interface 1508 may receive first communication signal1512, and may provide the associated position and captured imageinformation to entity image processor 508. Entity image processor 508may also receive virtual entity image information 524 from entityinformation storage 504, and may generate processed image informationsignal 1310. Communication interface 1508 may receive and transmitprocessed image information signal 1310 from server 1504 tocommunication interface 1510 at wearable device 1506 in a secondcommunication signal 1514. Communication interface 1510 may receivesecond communication signal 1514, and may transmit processed imageinformation signal 1310 to display generator 510. Display generator 510may generate a virtual entity image at lens 512 based upon processedimage information signal 1310, as described above.

Communication links 1516 and 1520 may be wired and/or wireless links,such as an IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN (WLAN) wireless link, a WorldwideInteroperability for Microwave Access (Wi-MAX) wireless link, anEthernet interface, a Universal Serial Bus (USB), etc. For example,communication links 1516 and/or 1520 may include a local area network(LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a personal area network (PAN), or acombination of networks, such as the Internet. Communication interfaces1508, 1510, and 1518 may be any type of communication/network interfaces(e.g., network interface card (NIC)), wired or wireless, such as an asIEEE 802.11 WLAN wireless interface, a Wi-MAX interface, an Ethernetinterface, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, etc.

In an embodiment where communication link 1520 includes a wireless link,wearable device 1506 may be wirelessly worn by user 102 without thehassles of a communication wire being attached to wearable device 1506.In the embodiment of FIG. 15, position information collection isperformed in wearable device 1506 (e.g., by position monitor 506 andcamera 1302), and image processing is performed in server 1504. It isnoted that 1500 is provided for illustrative purposes, and is notintended to be limiting. The elements of computer 1502, server 1504, andwearable device 1506 shown in FIG. 15 may be redistributed betweencomputer 1502, server 1504, and wearable device 1506 in other ways,including between additional or fewer devices, as would be understood topersons skilled in the relevant art(s) based on the teachings providedherein.

Body 1522 of wearable device 1506 may have various form factors,including the form of glasses, goggles, a mask, or other suitable formfactor. For instance, FIG. 16 shows a wearable device 1600, according toan example embodiment of the present invention. Wearable device 1600 isstill another example of wearable device 104 shown in FIG. 1. As shownin FIG. 16, wearable device 1600 includes a start button 1602, aplurality of sensors 1604, a microphone 1606, a pair of sound captors6008, a set of headphones 1610, a visual indicator 1612, a pair oftransparent lenses 1614, and a body 1616. As shown in FIG. 16, body 1616is shaped as a pair of glasses or goggles. Body 1616 may be modified tofurther prevent light from reaching the eyes of the user from aroundbody 1616. For example, a flexible extended lip may be provided aroundeach lens 1614 to conform closely to the face of the user. An example ofwearable device 1600 is described in co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/125,877, titled “Reality Overlay Device,” filed on May 22,2008, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.Wearable device 1600 is further described as follows.

As shown in FIG. 16, lenses 1614 enable a user to view his or hersurroundings through lenses 1614. Lenses 1614 may function as screensthat enable a non-transparent reality overlay to be displayed to theuser, as described above. In embodiments, each of the lenses 1614 mayinclude a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a display projector.

Wearable device 1600 may support connection to a wireless network suchas a cell phone network, localized Bluetooth devices, WorldwideInteroperability for Microwave Access (Wi-MAX) and Wireless Fidelity(Wi-Fi), as described above. In addition, wearable device 1600 maysupport further communication mechanisms such as Universal Serial Bus(USB), etc. Start button 1602 may enable the user to turn wearabledevice 1600 on (or off). In one embodiment, when wearable device 1600 isoff, wearable device 1600 may be used as a pair of sunglasses. Whenwearable device 1600 is on, wearable device 1600 may receive and captureinformation that is pertinent to physical surroundings with respect towearable device 1600, enabling a reality overlay to be generated in theform of one or virtual entity images, as described above. For instance,the information that is captured may include position, visual, and/oraudio information.

The visual information may be captured via one or more visual inputssuch as visual sensors 1604, which may each be camera 1302 shown in FIG.13, for example. For instance, each of visual sensors 1604 may be astill or video camera that is capable of capturing one or more stillimages or video images, respectively. These images may be captured intwo-dimensional form or three-dimensional form. In one embodiment,visual sensors 1604 may include two sensors, where one of the sensors1604 is positioned at the left side of the lenses 1614 of wearabledevice 1600 and another one of the sensors 1604 is positioned at theright side of the lenses 1614 of wearable device 1600. For instance, thesensors 1604 may be placed near the hinges of wearable device 1600, asshown in FIG. 16. In this manner, the two sensors 1604 may captureimages that would be viewed by a user's left and right eyes. The imagescaptured via the two sensors 1604 may be combined to replicate a singleimage that would be perceived by a user viewing the two separate imagesthrough the two different lenses 1614. The visual sensors 1604 mayfurther include a third sensor at the center of the lenses 1614 ofwearable device 1600.

Audio information may be captured via one or more audio sensors. Forinstance, the audio sensors may include one or more microphones. Asshown in this example, one or more microphones 1606 may be provided onthe bridge of wearable device 1600 for purposes of capturing voicecommands from a user of wearable device 1600 and/or for capturingsurrounding sounds. In an embodiment, wearable device 1600 may alsosupport voice recognition to assist in capturing voice commands. Theaudio sensors may also include one or more sound captors (e.g.,microphones) 1608 at various locations on wearable device 1600. In theexample of FIG. 16, sound captors 1608 include two separate soundcaptors, where each of the sound captors is positioned on the externalside of one of the arms of wearable device 1600. Sound captors 1608 mayfunction to receive sounds from the surroundings (e.g., rather than fromthe user of the device).

As described above, wearable device 1600 may also include positionmonitor 506 configured to determine information such as a location ofwearable device 1600 (e.g., coordinates of the device), an orientationof wearable device 1600, or a speed with which wearable device 1600 ismoving. For example, wearable device 1600 may include a globalpositioning system (GPS) device to enable coordinates of wearable device1600 to be determined. As another example, wearable device 1600 mayinclude one or more gyroscopes that may be used to determine anorientation of wearable device 1600. As yet another example, wearabledevice 1600 may include an accelerometer that may be used to determinean orientation and/or speed with which wearable device 1600 istraveling.

Other information that may be captured by the device may includeidentifying one or more entities in the field of vision of wearabledevice 1600. For instance, wearable device 1600 may support patternrecognition by including or accessing image recognition module 1304shown in FIG. 13. Thus, wearable device 1600 may process at least aportion of the received information (e.g., one or more images) in orderto identify one or more entities using pattern recognition. Suchentities may include environmental features such as a mountain, a road,a building, a sidewalk, and/or other fixed position entities. Moreover,entities that are recognized may also include people, animals, vehicles,and/or other mobile entities. Pattern recognition may also be used toidentify specific buildings by identifying letters, words, or addressesposted in association with a particular building. In addition, thedevice may enable entities to be recognized by a Radio FrequencyIdentification (RFID) or similar hardware tag. Similarly, entities maybe recognized using the location of wearable device 1600 and orientationof wearable device 1600.

Wearable device 1600 may obtain virtual entity overlay information foruse in generating and providing a non-transparent overlay of a virtualentity image and/or audio overlay using at least a portion of theinformation that wearable device 1600 has captured. The virtual entityin which information may be obtained at entity image storage 504 locally(e.g., from one or more local memories and/or processors) or remotely.For instance, virtual entity image information may be obtained remotelyfrom one or more servers using an Internet browser via a wirelessconnection to the Internet, as described above. Wearable device 1600 ora remotely located server may identify one or more entities in theinformation that wearable device 1600 has captured. This may beaccomplished by accessing a map of the location in which wearable device1600 is being used, using RFID, and/or by using pattern recognition, asset forth above. Information that is pertinent to the identifiedentities may then be obtained.

The virtual entity image information may also specify placement of avirtual entity with respect to real world entities. For example, thelocation of an entity in the visual information may be used to determinean optimum placement of the virtual entity image at lenses 1614. Forexample, where a real-world entity is a restaurant, the virtual entityimage information associated with the restaurant may be positionedimmediately next to or in front of the restaurant.

Similarly, in accordance with various embodiments, audio overlayinformation may be provided via one or more audio outputs (e.g.,speakers) of wearable device 1600. In this example, wearable device 1600includes a headphone 1610 that includes a speaker on the internal sideof both the left and right arms of wearable device 1600. In this manner,a user may receive audio overlay information such as directions a voiceor sounds made by a virtual entity displayed at lenses 1614.

Wearable device 1600 may further include visual indicator 1612configured to signal whether wearable device 1600 is online or offline.Visual indicator 1612 may also be used to indicate whether the user ison a wireless call.

The identity of the user of wearable device 1600 may be ascertained andused in various embodiments in order to tailor the operation of wearabledevice 1600 to preferences of the user. An identity of the user (e.g.,owner) of wearable device 1600 may be statically configured. Thus,wearable device 1600 may be keyed to an owner or multiple owners. Insome embodiments, wearable device 1600 may automatically determine theidentity of the user (e.g., wearer) of wearable device 1600. Forinstance, a user of the device may be identified by deoxyribonucleicacid (DNA) and/or retina scan.

It is important to note that wearable device 1600 shown and describedwith reference to FIG. 16 is provided for illustrative purposes, andtherefore wearable device 1600 may be implemented in different forms.Moreover, wearable device 1600 may support some or all of the abovelisted features, as well as additional features not set forth herein.

B. Example Wearable Reality Overlay Device Application Embodiments

The wearable devices described herein may be used in a variety ofapplications, and may be used to display any number of virtual entitieswith respect to any number of real world entities in a viewableenvironment. For example, FIG. 17 shows a block diagram of processedenvironment view 108 provided by wearable device 104, where a variety ofvirtual entity images 1702 and real world entities 1704 are viewable byuser 102 of wearable device 104. Virtual entity images 1702 aregenerated for display at the lenses of wearable device 104 so that theircorresponding virtual entities appear to be present to user 102. In somecases, virtual entity images 1702 may be configured to partially orentirely conceal one or more real world entities 1704 from the view ofuser 102.

For instance, user 102 may desire to simulate a trip to another place(e.g., an interstellar location), with a friend. Wearable device 104 maybe configured to generate various virtual entity images that combinewith real world entities to generate a virtual view of the other placeto user 102. For example, a virtual entity image 1702 a (e.g., theplanet Mars) is generated to be visible to user 102. A virtual entityimage 1702 b (e.g., a spaceship) is generated to be visible to user 102that entirely conceals a real-world entity (e.g., a car) from the viewof user 102. A portion of a real-world entity 1704 a (e.g., a friend ofuser 102) is visible to user 102. A virtual entity image 1702 c (e.g., aspacesuit) is generated to be visible to user 102, and partiallyconceals real-world entity 1704 b from the view of user 102. Areal-world entity 1702 b (e.g., user 102's dog) is visible to user 102.A virtual entity image 1702 d (e.g., the lunar landscape) is generatedto be visible to user 102 that entirely conceals a real world entity(e.g., the ground of the local environment) from user 102.

This description of processed environment view 108 generated by wearabledevice 104 with respect to FIG. 17 is provided for illustrativepurposes, and is not intended to be limiting. Any number of virtualentities and/or any type of virtual environment may be generated bywearable device 104 to be overlaid over a real-world environment.Further example embodiments of the present invention include:

1. Creation of monetizable virtual entities: As wearable reality overlaydevices become prevalent in the marketplace, individuals and/orcompanies that generate and/or sell virtual entities, including anyvirtual entities described elsewhere herein (virtual clothing, toys,pets, objects, etc.), may be able to generate income based on the sales.

2. Locking the appearance of persons: As described herein, wearablereality overlay devices enable the appearance of others to be modified.Persons may desire to lock their appearance to a particular selectedappearance, so that their appearance in other users' wearable deviceswill always appear the same. For instance, a user may have a full body,three-dimensional scan of their body performed. The full body scan maybe uploaded into storage (e.g., in entity information storage 504), andmay be available at a central server (e.g., server 1504 shown in FIG.15) to be accessed by various wearable devices. The stored full bodyscan is a canonical source of imagery for any other user having awearable reality overlay device that views the user. In addition, a usercan optionally configure clothing patterns for their self and others toview using a wearable device.

3. Maintaining the appearance of entities: In a world where wearablereality overlay devices are prevalent, because the “real world” can bere-skinned in the view of users, real world entities in physical spacemay fall into disrepair. The virtual appearance of decaying real worldentities such as furniture, buildings, clothing, etc., can continue toappear well-maintained using wearable reality overlay devices.Furthermore, such real world entities can be revised and/or upgraded byoverlaying virtual entities on the real world entities that are revisedvirtual and/or upgraded versions. For example, instead of purchasing anew real world dresser for an old dresser, the old dresser could be madeto virtually appear in new shape or as a different style of dresser,such as a colonial or mid-century dresser to users of wearable devices.

4. Example application—living in another era: a user who has a penchantfor nostalgia can substitute reality with an earlier era by“re-skinning” the real-world entities around them with virtual versionsof the real-world entities from an earlier era.

5. Example application—living in an alternative city: a user can re-skinentities present in their current city so it appears to be a differentcity. For example, a San Francisco resident who just travelled to Parismay wish to re-skin San Francisco with Parisian themed virtual entities.

6. Example application—adding life caching: Virtual entitiesrepresentative of absent or dead relatives can be added to the field ofview of a user of a wearable reality overlay device. Artificialintelligence (AI) technologies can be used to simulate the actions ofsuch virtual persons as viewed in a wearable device if such persons canbe “life cached.” A user may be enabled to have a conversation with avirtual representation of a dead, famous, absent or other person, basedon their cached life.

7. Example application—games: Users of wearable devices can insertthemselves into games having a virtual gaming environment (e.g., avirtual game field of play), virtual competitors and/or teammates,virtual game implements (e.g., virtual game balls, rackets, bats,gloves, guns, etc.), that are displayed alongside real-world componentsof the games, including real-world game field features, real-worldpersons that are teammates or competitors, real world game implements,etc. The following subsection describes some example wearable realityoverlay device embodiments in a gaming environment.

C. Example Wearable Reality Overlay Device Gaming Embodiments

In embodiments, wearable reality overlay devices are configured toenable reality and virtual aspects to be presented together tomanipulate reality for gaming purposes. Examples of such embodiment aredescribed in the present subsection. The example embodiments describedherein are provided for illustrative purposes, and are not limiting.Further structural and operational embodiments, includingmodifications/alterations, will become apparent to persons skilled inthe relevant art(s) from the teachings herein.

FIG. 18 shows a block diagram of an example wearable reality overlaydevice 1800 (hereinafter “wearable device 1800”), according to anembodiment of the present invention. Wearable device 1800 is an exampleof wearable device 104 shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 18, wearabledevice 1800 includes user interface 502, entity information storage 504,position monitor 506, display generator 510, lens 512, a game engine1802, a microphone 1822, and a speaker 1824. Game engine 1802 includesentity image processor 508, a rules engine 1810, an AI module 1812, agame field layout module 1814, an audio processor 1816, and a remoteplayer interface 1818. As shown in FIG. 18, wearable device 500interacts with eye 514, which may be an eye of user 102 shown in FIG. 1,for example.

The elements of wearable device 1800 shown in FIG. 18 may be included ina self-contained wearable device, or may be included in differentdevices (e.g., as shown in FIG. 15, where computer 1502, server 1504,and wearable device 1506 each include respective elements). For example,game engine 1802 may be included in a server that is accessible by oneor more wearable devices, including wearable device 1800. Furthermore,wearable device 1800 may include dual image processing (e.g., generatingvirtual images for a pair of lenses as shown in FIG. 10) and/or dualaudio processing (e.g., receiving sound at right and left microphones1822, and generating sound at right and left speakers 1824).

Wearable device 1800 is generally similar to the wearable devicesdescribed above, with differences described as follows. Wearable device1800 is described below with respect to FIG. 19. FIG. 19 shows aflowchart 1900 for reality overlay in a gaming environment, according toan example embodiment of the present invention. For example, the stepsof flowchart 1900 may be integrated in flowchart 900 shown in FIG. 9.Flowchart 1900 may be performed by wearable device 1800, for example.Wearable device 1800 and flowchart 1900 are described as follows.

In step 1902, image information corresponding to one or more virtualgame entities is received. As shown in FIG. 18, virtual entitydescriptions 520 stored in entity information storage 504 includevarious game related virtual entity descriptions, such as characters1804, implements 1806, and features 1808. The characters 1804,implements 1806, and features 1808 descriptions may be received atentity image processor 508 in game engine 1802 from entity informationstorage 504 in virtual entity image information 524.

Characters 1804 may include graphical information necessary forgraphical rendering of an image of the one or more virtual characters ofa game served by game engine 1802. Characters 1804 may also include gameparameters related to the corresponding virtual characters, includingartificial intelligence characteristics and sound characteristics. Thegraphical information may include information for rendering virtualcharacters in two or three dimensions, depending on the particularcharacter and/or game. Examples of virtual characters that may havedescriptors included in characters 1804 include opponents and/orteammates of a user of wearable device 1800, and may include virtualcharacters such as virtual animals, people (e.g., celebrities, athletes,famous people, historical figures, friends, relatives, etc.), video gamecharacters, monsters, cartoon characters, and other virtual characters.

Implements 1806 may include graphical information necessary forgraphical rendering of an image of the one or more virtual implements ofa game served by game engine 1802. The graphical information may includeinformation for rendering virtual implements in two or three dimensions,depending on the particular implement and/or game. Examples of virtualimplements that may have descriptors included in implements 1806 includevirtual game balls (e.g., virtual baseballs, golf balls, soccer balls,footballs, basketballs, tennis balls, ping-pong balls, racquet balls,etc.), rackets, bats, firearms, other weapons, vehicles, musicalinstruments, and other virtual implements.

Features 1808 may include graphical information necessary for graphicalrendering of an image of the one or more virtual features of a gameserved by game engine 1802. The graphical information may includeinformation for rendering virtual features in two or three dimensions,depending on the particular feature and/or game. Examples of virtualfeatures that may have descriptions included in features 1808 includevirtual game fields (e.g., turf, grass, hard court, field markers, abattlefield, etc.), trees, dwellings, mountains, goals, goalposts,targets, nets (e.g., a tennis net, a basketball net, etc.), and othervirtual features.

In step 1904, a next game state is determined based on one or more ofthe determined information, one or more rules of a game, a virtualplayer artificial intelligence, a game field configuration, a currentgame state, or at least one additional real-world game player. Gameengine 1802 may be configured to perform step 1904. Game engine 1802 maymaintain a game state 1830. Based upon the maintained game state 1830,game engine 1802 may determine a next game state 1830. One or more ofrules engine 1810, AI module 1812, game field layout module 1814, andaudio processor 1816 of game engine 1802 may be present to processcorresponding received information and/or information related to gamestate 1830 to generate a next game state 1830.

For example, rules engine 1810 may be configured to process game physicsaccording to the particular rules of the game, which may be a sport(e.g., basketball, football, baseball, tennis, ping-pong, swimming,track, soccer, etc.), an arcade game, a simulation game (e.g., military,medieval, outer space, etc.), or other type of game. Rules engine 1810may be configured to process movements of real world players, includingmovements of user 102, movements of virtual implements of the gameaccording to the particular rules of the game to generate updatedpositions for virtual game entities.

AI module 1812 may be configured to handle the artificial intelligenceof virtual characters of the game. For example, AI 1812 may beconfigured to determine actions of opponents and/or teammates of theuser in the game. Based upon the maintained game state 1830, AI module1812 may determine the next actions of the virtual characters to beincluded in the next game state 1830.

Game field layout module 1814 may be configured to maintain a layout ofthe various features of the game relative to motions of wearable device1802. For example, game field layout module 1814 may be configured tomaintain the positions of features such as those described above withrespect to features 1808, as the game progresses from the current gamestate 1830 to a next game state 1830.

Audio processor 1816, microphone 1822, and/or speaker 1824 may each beoptionally present. Audio processor 1816 may be configured to receive avoice input 1826 of user 102 received at microphone 1822, and to analyzevoice input 1826 for instructions provided by user 102. Determinedinstructions may be provided to rules engine 1810 to be processed withrespect to the rules of the game, to AI module 1812 to be processed asinstructions to virtual characters of the game, and/or to becommunicated to remote real-world persons participating in the game(e.g., over a communication link 1820). Audio processor 1816 may alsogenerate sound information 1828 to be broadcast by speaker 1824 to user102. The broadcast of sound information 1828 may include voicecommunications from virtual characters and/or from remote real-worldpersons participating in the game, and/or may include sound effects ofthe game.

Remote player interface 1818 provides an interface between game engine1802 and other persons participating in the game. Remote playerinterface 1818 is configured to communicate over a communication link1820 with remote wearable devices and/or other electronic devicesassociated with the remote players. In an embodiment where game engine1802 is separate (e.g., located in a separate server) from wearabledevice 1800, communications of camera 1302, display generator 510,microphone 1822, and speaker 1824 may occur from wearable device 1800over communication link 1820 two game engine 1802 rather than directlyto game engine 1802 as shown in FIG. 18. Remote player interface 1818may include any suitable communication interface described elsewhereherein or otherwise known.

In step 1906, the image information is processed based on the determinednext game state 1830. Entity image processor 508 is configured toprocess the image information corresponding to the virtual game entitiesreceived in virtual entity image information 524 based on the next gamestate 1830 determined by game engine 1802 to generate processed imageinformation signal 528. Processed image information signal 528 mayinclude processed image information corresponding to any number ofvirtual entities of the game including virtual characters, virtualfeatures, and virtual implements of the game. Step 1906 may be performedduring step 904 of flowchart 900 shown in FIG. 9, for example.

In step 1908, one or more images corresponding to the one or morevirtual game entities are generated based on the processed imageinformation as one or more corresponding non-transparent region of alens of the wearable device. As shown in FIG. 18, display generator 510receives processed image information signal 528, and is configured togenerate one or more entity images 516 at lens 512 as non-transparentregions. The one or more entity images 516 correspond to virtualentities of the game. The non-transparent regions enable the one or morevirtual entities to appear to be present in the environment to user 102of wearable device 1800.

For example, FIG. 20 shows an example of environment 106 viewable touser 102 when wearable device 1800 is not present or activated. As shownin FIG. 20, environment 106 includes a tree 2002, a real-world gameparticipant 2004, a lot 2006, a house 2008, and a handheld gamecontroller 2010. When user 102 is wearing wearable device 1800, and hasactivated a game of lacrosse, a processed environment view 108 shown inFIG. 21 may be provided to user 102 through wearable device 1800, in anexample embodiment. Virtual entities in processed environment view 108may be generated by wearable device 1800 that interact in the game oflacrosse with user 102 according to game engine 1802.

For instance, various virtual entity images are displayed to user 102 bywearable device 1800 that correspond to the game of lacrosse. As shownin FIG. 21, processed environment view 108 includes tree 2002,real-world game participant 2004, lot 2006, and house 2008, and furtherincludes a virtual scoreboard 2102, a virtual goal 2104, a virtuallacrosse stick 2106, a virtual ball 2108, a virtual opponent 2110, avirtual player outfit 2112, and virtual field marker lines 2114. Virtualscoreboard 2102 is positioned to in front of tree 2002 to partiallyconceal tree 2002. Virtual scoreboard 2102 is configured by game engine1802 to display a score of the game. Virtual goal 2104 is positioned atan end of a virtual game field indicated by virtual field marker lines2114. Real world game participant 2004 is provided with virtual lacrossestick 2106 that conceals handheld game controller 2010. Wearable device1800 is configured to virtually replace handheld game controller 2010with virtual lacrosse stick 2106. Real world game participant 2004 maypick up virtual ball 2108 using virtual lacrosse stick 2106 (by movinghandheld game controller 2010), and may score a goal by throwing virtualball 2008 into virtual goal 2104 using virtual lacrosse stick 2106 (bymoving handheld game controller 2010). Virtual opponent 2110 may attemptto try to prevent real-world game participant 2004 from scoring a goalby intercepting virtual ball 2108 or otherwise virtually interactingwith real world game participant 2004 according to the rules oflacrosse. User 102 may interact in the game using a virtual lacrossestick (not visible in FIG. 21) as a teammate or opponent of real-worldgame participant 2004, for example.

As described above, real world game participant 2004 may use handheldgame controller 2010. Handheld game controller 2010 may be similar tothe Wii Remote™ distributed for the Nintendo® Wii™ game console byNintendo Company Ltd, of Kyoto, Japan, for example. Movements ofhandheld game controllers 2010 held by user 102 and/or real world gameparticipant 2004 can be tracked by wearable device 1800 to aid insimulating a tennis court, a boxing ring (complete with bystanders), agolf course, a bowling alley, or a baseball stadium, for example, in avirtual environment. For example, controller 2010 may include a RFIDtag, an infrared emitter, or other mechanism enabling its motions to betracked. Games, such as a virtual boxing match may be undertaken betweenuser 102 and real-world game participant 2004 using controller 2010. Thesurroundings may be replaced by a virtual boxing ring environmentgenerated by wearable device 1800 that is viewable by user 102. User 102and real-world game participant 2004 may be enabled to virtually fightagainst each other in this manner.

These examples of wearable device 1800 enabling user 102 to participatein the above described game environments are provided for illustrativepurposes, and are not intended to be limiting. Any type of gameenvironment may be enabled by wearable device 1800 that includes anynumber of virtual entities and real world entities. Further exampleembodiments are described as follows:

1. A capture the flag game can be enabled by wearable device 1800. Forexample, user 102 may travel to a specific physical location and make aspecific hand movement in order to capture a virtual flag.

2. A virtual Pac-man game may be enabled by wearable device 1800. Forexample, user 102 may travel along a specific path in order to touchfloating virtual dots suspended in his/her field of vision by wearabledevice 1800 (this approach can be modified to lead a wearer to alocation by walking by following virtual “bread crumbs”).

3. A virtual maze can be generated in an open field by wearable device1800. User 102 may be enabled to navigate the virtual maze by wearabledevice 1800 by walking through the virtual maze.

4. An open space can have any kind of field virtually imposed upon it bywearable device 1800. For example, a soccer game can be enabled to beplayed with a virtual ball, a civil war strategy game can be enabled tobe played with the real world participants wearing virtual periodclothing and brandishing virtual period weapons. Real world physicalcharacteristics can be embedded directly in the game, such as enabling ahill to be overtaken by an opposing force, etc.

5. A laser tag game can be enabled to be played in the real world bywearable device 1800, using virtual laser guns, and using real worldphysical objects to block shots, etc.

6. Virtual people, avatars, cartoon characters, etc., can be generatedby wearable device 1800 to provide user 102 with clues in order to moveforward in a game.

7. A virtual World Of Warcraft-type overlay can be generated that issuperimposed on the real world by wearable device 1800 instead of beingviewed on a computer screen. According to the virtual overlay, user 102can be enabled to play in the real world, but be fighting virtualcharacters. Note that in any game, wearable device 1800 may be enabledwith overrides configured to reveal real world entities to user 102 asrequired to avoid real world dangers/accidents/collisions.

8. User 102, real world game participant 2004, and/or other real worldgame participants may each be wearing a corresponding wearable device1800, and may be enabled by game engine 1802 (which may be located in aseparate server) to interact in games together. For example, user 102and the other game participants may be enabled to re-enact famousbattles or points of time in history. For example, the battle ofGettysburg may be virtually reenacted while user 102 and the other gameparticipants stand, walk, and/or run in a common field. Wearable device1800 may be configured to virtually overlay the armies over the realworld field. As user 102 turns his/her head wearable device 1800correspondingly re-aligns the virtual infantry over the hills.

9. In typical “cosplay,” or “costume play,” a person physically dresseslike their favorite character and can emulate that character. Usingwearable device 1800 as a cosplay device, user 102 can simulate theappearance of their favorite characters appearance by virtually applyingtheir appearance/clothing to them self, and to other cosplayparticipants.

10. Amateur and professional sports players can wear wearable devices1800 in order to receive real time play information from their coaches.For example, a football game may no longer require huddles for theplayers to confer with each other or for the coach to confer with theplayers, but instead, plays may be fed in real time to the playersthrough wearable devices 1800 while they are on the field. Wearabledevice 1800 may be configured to display to user 102 where user 102needs to go on the field in order to complete a play and to set up anext play.

11. A concert may be virtually displayed by wearable device 1800 to user102. For example, wearable device 1800 may display a concert to user 102of their favorite band. Wearable device 1800 may virtually overlay theconcert at any place that user 102 is located, such as in a park full ofpeople, or in the living room of user 102.

12. Monetization: Wearable device 1800 may enable monetizing of variousaspects of games. For example, sponsors can use “reality show”-typevirtual gaming to encourage individuals to perform tasks for rewards.Additional advertisement inventory can be generated by wearable device1800 by displaying virtual advertisements on real world objects duringgames. Furthermore, any needed development infrastructure/platform forwearable device 1800 (e.g., a server for game engine 1802) can beresold/rented to game developers.

III. Example Computer Implementation

Note that wearable devices 104, 500, 1000, 1300, 1506, 1600, and 1800,computer 1502, and server 1504 may each include hardware, software,firmware, or any combination thereof to perform their respectivefunctions. For example, any one or more of wearable devices 104, 500,1000, 1300, 1506, 1600, and 1800, computer 1502, and server 1504 mayinclude computer code configured to be executed in one or moreprocessors. Alternatively or additionally, any one or more of wearabledevices 104, 500, 1000, 1300, 1506, 1600, and 1800, computer 1502, andserver 1504 may be implemented in hardware logic/electrical circuitry.

Devices in which embodiments may be implemented may include storage,such as storage drives, memory devices, and further types ofcomputer-readable media. Examples of such computer-readable mediainclude a hard disk, a removable magnetic disk, a removable opticaldisk, flash memory cards, digital video disks, random access memories(RAMs), read only memories (ROM), and the like. As used herein, theterms “computer program medium” and “computer-readable medium” are usedto generally refer to the hard disk associated with a hard disk drive, aremovable magnetic disk, a removable optical disk (e.g., CDROMs, DVDs,etc.), zip disks, tapes, magnetic storage devices, MEMS(micro-electromechanical systems) storage, nanotechnology-based storagedevices, as well as other media such as flash memory cards, digitalvideo discs, RAM devices, ROM devices, and the like. Suchcomputer-readable media may store program modules that include logic forenabling wearable devices 104, 500, 1000, 1300, 1506, 1600, and 1800,computer 1502, server 1504, flowchart 900 of FIG. 9, flowchart 1100 ofFIG. 11, flowchart 1200 of FIG. 12, flowchart 1900 of FIG. 19, and/orfurther embodiments of the present invention described herein.Embodiments of the present invention are directed to computer programproducts comprising such logic (e.g., in the form of program code)stored on any computer useable medium. Such program code, when executedin a processing unit (that includes one or more data processingdevices), causes a device to operate as described herein.

CONCLUSION

While various embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it should be understood that they have been presented by way ofexample only, and not limitation. It will be apparent to persons skilledin the relevant art that various changes in form and detail can be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not belimited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but shouldbe defined only in accordance with the following claims and theirequivalents.

1-29. (canceled)
 30. A method comprising: determining, by at least oneprocessing unit, information related to a wearable device and a numberof real-world entities located in an environment proximate to andviewable through the wearable device, determination of the relatedinformation comprising determining a state of a game; acquiring, by theat least one processing unit, image information representative of avirtual entity of the game, the image information representative of thevirtual entity of the game being based at least on the determinedrelated information comprising the determined state of the game;generating, by the at least one processing unit and using the imageinformation representative of the virtual entity of the game, an imageof the virtual entity of the game as a virtual entity display region ofa lens of the wearable device to enable the virtual entity of the gameto appear to be present in the environment using the wearable device;tracking, by the at least one processing unit, a position of a movablereal-world entity in the environment, the movable real-world entity isvisible through a transparent region of the lens of the wearable device;optically aligning, by the at least one processing unit, the image ofthe virtual entity of the game on the lens of the wearable device withthe movable real-world entity, optical alignment of the image of thevirtual entity of the game comprising positioning the virtual entity ofthe game to conceal at least a portion of the movable real-world entityotherwise visible through the lens of the wearable device as the movablereal-world entity is being tracked.
 31. The method of claim 30, opticalalignment of the image of the virtual entity of the game comprisingpositioning and sizing the virtual entity of the game to conceal atleast a portion of the movable real-world entity otherwise visiblethrough the lens of the wearable device as the movable real-world entityis being tracked.
 32. The method of claim 30, the virtual entity of thegame is at least one of a virtual character of the game, a virtualimplement of the game and a virtual feature of the game.
 33. The methodof claim 30, determination of the related information furthercomprising: determining at least one of a location of the wearabledevice, an orientation of the wearable device, and a speed at which thewearable device is moving.
 34. The method of claim 33, the imageinformation representative of the virtual entity of the game is furtherbased on the determined at least one of the location of the wearabledevice, the orientation of the wearable device, and the speed at whichthe wearable device is moving.
 35. The method of claim 30, determinationof the related information further comprising: determining at least oneof a location of the movable real-world entity, an orientation of themovable real-world entity, and a speed at which the movable real-worldentity is moving.
 36. The method of claim 35, the image informationrepresentative of the virtual entity of the game which is further basedon the determined at least one of the location of the movable real-worldentity, the orientation of the movable real-world entity, and the speedat which the movable real-world entity is moving.
 37. The method ofclaim 30, determination of the related information further comprising:capturing an image of the movable real-world entity; and processing thecaptured image to determine a location of the movable real-world entity.38. The method of claim 30, further comprising: acquiring updated imageinformation representative of the virtual entity of the game that isbased at least on updated information related to the environmentproximate to a wearable device, the updated related informationcomprising an updated state of the game; and generating, using theupdated related image information, an updated image of the virtualentity of the game as an updated virtual entity display region of thelens.
 39. The method of claim 30, further comprising: generating, usingthe acquired image information, a second image of the virtual entity ofthe game as a virtual entity display region of a second lens of thewearable device.
 40. The method of claim 30, the movable real-worldentity is a handheld game controller, the virtual entity of the gamecomprises a virtual implement of the game and optical alignment of thevirtual entity of the game comprises positioning the virtual implementof the game to conceal at least a portion of the handheld gamecontroller otherwise visible through the lens of the wearable device asthe handheld game controller is being tracked.
 41. The method of claim30, the movable real-world entity is a handheld game controller, thevirtual entity of the game comprises a virtual implement of the game andoptical alignment of the virtual entity of the game comprisespositioning and sizing the virtual implement of the game to conceal atleast a portion of the handheld game controller otherwise visiblethrough the lens of the wearable device as the handheld game controlleris being tracked.
 42. The method of claim 30, the virtual entity of thegame comprises a virtual advertisement that is optically aligned with areal-world object to conceal at least a portion of the real-worldobject.
 43. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium tangiblyencoded with computer-executable instructions that when executed by aprocessor associated with a computing device perform a methodcomprising: determining information related to a wearable device and anumber of real-world entities located in an environment proximate to andviewable through the wearable device, determination of the relatedinformation comprising determining a state of a game; acquiring imageinformation representative of a virtual entity of the game, the imageinformation representative of the virtual entity of the game being basedat least on the determined related information comprising the determinedstate of the game; generating, using the image informationrepresentative of the virtual entity of the game, an image of thevirtual entity of the game as a virtual entity display region of a lensof the wearable device to enable the virtual entity of the game toappear to be present in the environment using the wearable device;tracking a position of a movable real-world entity in the environment,the movable real-world entity is visible through a transparent region ofthe lens of the wearable device; optically aligning the image of thevirtual entity of the game on the lens of the wearable device with themovable real-world entity, optical alignment of the image of the virtualentity of the game comprising positioning the virtual entity of the gameto conceal at least a portion of the movable real-world entity otherwisevisible through the lens of the wearable device as the movablereal-world entity is being tracked.
 44. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 43, optical alignment of theimage of the virtual entity of the game comprising positioning andsizing the virtual entity of the game to conceal at least a portion ofthe movable real-world entity otherwise visible through the lens of thewearable device as the movable real-world entity is being tracked. 45.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 43, thevirtual entity of the game comprises a virtual advertisement that isoptically aligned with a real-world object to conceal at least a portionof the real-world object.
 46. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 43, further comprising: acquiring updated imageinformation representative of the virtual entity of the game that isbased at least on updated information related to the environmentproximate to a wearable device, the updated related informationcomprising an updated state of the game; and generating, using theupdated related image information, an updated image of the virtualentity of the game as an updated virtual entity display region of thelens.
 47. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim43, the virtual entity of the game is at least one of a virtualcharacter of the game, a virtual implement of the game and a virtualfeature of the game.
 48. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium of claim 43, the virtual entity of the game is at least one of avirtual character of the game, a virtual implement of the game and avirtual feature of the game.
 49. A computing device comprising: aprocessor; and a non-transitory storage medium for tangibly storingthereon program logic for execution by the processor, the program logiccomprising: determining logic executed by the processor for determininginformation related to a wearable device and a number of real-worldentities located in an environment proximate to and viewable through thewearable device, determination of the related information comprisingdetermining a state of a game; acquiring logic executed by the processorfor acquiring image information representative of a virtual entity ofthe game, the image information representative of the virtual entity ofthe game being based at least on the determined related informationcomprising the determined state of the game; generating logic executedby the processor for generating, using the image informationrepresentative of the virtual entity of the game, an image of thevirtual entity of the game as a virtual entity display region of a lensof the wearable device to enable the virtual entity of the game toappear to be present in the environment using the wearable device;tracking logic executed by the processor for tracking a position of amovable real-world entity in the environment, the movable real-worldentity is visible through a transparent region of the lens of thewearable device; aligning logic executed by the processor for opticallyaligning the image of the virtual entity of the game on the lens of thewearable device with the movable real-world entity, optical alignment ofthe image of the virtual entity of the game comprising positioning thevirtual entity of the game to conceal at least a portion of the movablereal-world entity otherwise visible through the lens of the wearabledevice as the movable real-world entity is being tracked.